Not Just A Cat Chapter Ten
NOT JUST A CAT, CHAPTER TEN We arrived at India the next morning. The next five hours was a rush of getting to our rooms (we stayed in a gorgeous golden palace in large, amazing rooms. The sheets were dark red with gold trim, the floors and walls were different shades of gold- mostly everything was red and gold), unpacking, changing, eating breakfast, getting the last things done for the ceremony, and then running down to the hall where the ceremony would take place. It was a beautiful room. The walls and flooring was gold; there were six pillars on both sides of the room; at the front was a jade green altar with a dark red carpet leading up to it that ran down the entire room, and there were many pews on either side of the aisle. On the ceiling was a big painting of many winged young animals flying around in the sky. It was a breathtaking sight. Many other animals came in, all speaking a different language that I couldn't understand. I guess when I transported here, the only language I can understand is Chinese, which I hear as English. They were all dressed up for the occasion, in dresses and robes. At around noontime, the ceremony started. The warriors of the Jade Palace (and Tewey) sat in the first pew on the right side. "This place is amazing," Trinity said. "India has a lot of cool structures and customs." "I wonder what the ceremony will be like," I said to her. Three men, all white ducks in green robes, stood at the altar. Music played in the background. The first duck announced something in Indian. Everyone stood up, and the girls and I followed along. "I know a little Indian," I heard Tewey whisper in my ear. "Would you like me to translate?" "Yes, please," the girls and I all whispered back. The big, brown doors in the back swung open. Kahn was standing there, dressed in a white robe with jewels hanging from the ends of the sleeves and from the bottom. He was wearing a large, golden crown on his head. Kahn began to walk down the aisle. When he got up to us, he winked at me, and then went up to the altar and stood next to the three ducks. Next, six pigs appeared in the doorway holding a golden coffin. The coffin was covered in gold roses (I couldn't tell if they were painted gold or had been grown that way). The pigs carried the coffin to the altar and sat it next to Kahn. I guessed that Shangari's body was in that coffin. Then, Jarube appeared in the doorway. He was dressed in a dark blue robe with golden trim that looked fit for a king. Jarube walked down the aisle and up to the altar. He kneeled down at the foot of it. Sera then appeared in the large doorway. She looked completely unrecognizable. A lot of makeup was on her face, like golden eye shadow and lips so dark red that it looked like her lips were bleeding. She wore a dark red dress. Along the cuffs and the waistline were black jewels. The dress had a long train, which needed to be carried by three pigs that had carried Shangari's coffin. When Sera reached the altar, she kneeled down next to her fiancé. One duck started announcing things in Indian, and Tewey translated for us. "Today will be a day remembered for generations to come," Tewey translated. "Today is the day that Prince Jarube and Princess Seraphiniaph will become King Jarube and Queen Seraphiniaph. The two of them have been through tough times over the past few years. They have gone from good to evil, and then back to good. They realize their mistakes, and hope to erase them and give the country of India something good that will make them known in history." Another duck spoke up. "The former king and queen," Tewey translated, "King Kahn and Queen Shangari, have helped India to become a better country, and they have helped us take back what was ours before the Darkening. We know that their heir and heiress will surely keep that going, and help us restore our country to the way it was before the Darkening came over us." "The Darkening?" I asked Tewey. "What's that?" But the last duck had spoken up before Tewey could reply. "As we crown the new rulers," Tewey translated, "we remember what life was like before the Darkening. We were happy, a beautiful country that was expanding and growing quickly. After the Darkening finally past, our country was no longer happy and beautiful, but gloomy and dreadful. But, under the rule of our rulers, we rebuilt and became even bigger and better than we were before the Darkening hit. And now we are at the peak of our greatness as a country. We crown our new rulers in hope that they shall help us achieve even greater excellence as a country." First, a pig came up to the coffin and opened it. I glared over the edge. Inside was a beautiful cat with golden colored fur. She wore a pink bejeweled dress and long, white gloves. On her head was a golden tiara. I guessed that that was Shangari herself. She looked beautiful. A duck carefully leaned over and took the tiara off of Shangari's head. The duck walked up to Sera and placed the tiara on her head. Then, Kahn took the crown off of his head and placed it carefully on Jarube's head. Sera and Jarube got up and turned around to face the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen of India," translated Tewey. "I now present to you… King Jarube and Queen Seraphiniaph!" Applause as loud as a thunderstorm filled the room. I applauded as well, glad for the new king and queen of India… ---- "Kelsi." A voice caused me to turn around and look. Sera, still in the dress and makeup she wore for the ceremony and still wearing the tiara on her head, was standing in the doorway of my room. "Sera," I said. "Congratulations on becoming the new queen! That's great!" "Thank you," Sera said. She stepped into the room. "I wanted to thank you, Kelsi." "For what?" I asked. "For helping me decide my destiny," she explained. "Without you, I would have never become the queen of India, and I would still be the evil woman I was then. I thought I was destined to become the ruler of evil. I was wrong. Thank you." "You're welcome," I said. "Sera, may I ask you a question?" "Ask away." "What's the Darkening?" "Well," she started. "The Darkening occurred about one hundred years ago. It was a fifteen year period when mysterious evil creatures invaded India and murdered the king and queen. Their leader took over. India then became a place of death. Thousands of our people died. Almost every structure was destroyed, and half the country was wiped out. The mysterious creatures were the inhabitants of the country, and the Indians were slaves. They slept on the floor in chains and were only given a little food when they entertained the leader of the creatures. About seventy six thousand people died during that mere fifteen years." "How did it end?" I asked. "Well, nobody is sure how it ended," Sera explained. "There are tens of theories. Some people think that food became scarce and the mysterious creatures died out. Others think that the leader caught a disease and died, which forced the other creatures to give India back to the Indians. And another theory…" She paused. "Another theory, the most popular and most impossible, is that a beautiful, powerful being came down from the Heavens and destroyed the mysterious creatures, as well as restoring India's land and giving the Indians enough resources to rebuild." I thought for a few seconds. "Did the powerful being happen to have wavy blue hair and crystal colored eyes?" I asked her, wondering if it was Ai, goddess of love. "Nobody knows," Sera said. "There isn't one person alive who knows what it was like during those times and who saved India." I nodded. Maybe Ai was the one who restored peace to India. But who was the leader of the mysterious creatures? Who were the mysterious creatures? I guess only time can tell… ---- "What!? But… but… I'm not ready to go back home!" I exclaimed at Trinity on the boat heading back the next morning. "Too bad," Trinity said, reaching for her necklace. "I want to get home to bed. I'm exhausted after this journey." "Me too," Nicole said, almost falling asleep on Trinity's shoulder. "And you're in our room," Trinity pointed out. "You have to get out of the house before mom and dad wake up and find you there." "But I'm not'' in'' your house," I replied. "We're on a boat." "In the human world you are," Trinity said. "Can we just wait until we get back to the Jade Palace?" I asked. "Sure," Trinity replied. "But I don't think Nicole's going to stay awake until we get home." Trinity pointed to Nicole, half asleep on the floor of the boat. "Wake me when we get there," Nicole said, falling into sleep. Shifu walked up to us, shaking his head. "Remind me to teach her how to stay awake," he said to us. "Master, when she's tired, Nicole can't stay awake even if she tried," Trinity explained. "The girl doesn't drink caffeine," I stated, looking at Trinity. "She hates soda," Trinity pointed out. "And so do I." "Soda?" Shifu asked. "It's a popular type of drink in the human world," I explained. "Well, in our time period. It hasn't been invented yet here." Shifu nodded. "Oh, and Master, we'll be heading back to the human world once we get to the Jade Palace," Trinity informed him. He nodded and walked over to Kahn. The two started talking. "Well, what do you want to do tomorrow?" Trinity asked me quietly, trying not to let Nicole awake. "My house? Your house?" "How about the movies?" I asked. "My mom can take us." "My mom wouldn't let us go without her there," Trinity replied, leaning against the edge of the boat. "You know how my mom is." "Ah, yes," I said, almost laughing at how overprotective Mrs. Bacon is. "I recall the story of the day you went to an ice skating party and she let you go to the party, but she wouldn't let you ice skate." "And halfway through the party, when I begged her to let me ice skate, she made me wear elbow pads and a helmet," Trinity said. "Ah, I think she's the reason I have barely any friends." "Tell me the story about when you went to a movie with your friends," I said to her. "You know, when your mom came along to the movie and the girls you went with teased you about being a mama's girl." "I'd rather not ''talk about it," Trinity said, looking at her shoes. "Sometimes I wish I had ''your mom as a mother, Kelsi." "Sometimes I wish that, too," I said. "Sometimes I wish that you and Nicole were part of my family. You'd have a much better life with my family. My dad doesn't curse at my mom like your dad does, and my mom doesn't not let me go sledding because some sleds have sharp tips that can hurt people." I almost laughed at that. "I wish that too," Trinity sighed. "If you ever want to run away, come to my house," I told my friend. "When your mom comes looking for you, I bet my mom will talk her out of continuing to be the overprotective babying mother she is." Trinity looked up. "But what if-" "Trinity," I said, putting a hand on my friend's shoulder. "You're'' thirteen years old'', and you're in eighth grade. You're a young lady. You can't be babied by your mother anymore, and you can't have your mom take complete control of your life. You need to have fun." "What kind of fun?" Trinity asked. "Fun like going sledding in the winter, ice skating without protective gear, going to movies without your mom watching you, going to parties without your mom as an adult chaperone- you need to get out there and have'' fun''." Trinity looked at me. "But-" "You may not know it, but I can't'' stand'' that woman," I said. "Really. She takes control of your life, and she doesn't let you do anything fun. You need to live like a modern thirteen year old does. And tomorrow we're convincing your mom to let your sister and you go to the movies without her supervision. End of discussion." Before Trinity could let out another 'But', I walked away to the other side of the boat, letting her think about what I had said.